Konta cruises as Konjuh comes through epic
There were starkly contrasting wins for Johanna Konta and Ana Konjuh at the WTA Aegon Open and Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.
Johanna Konta eased into the semi-finals of the Aegon Open for the first time after seeing off Ashleigh Barty in straight sets on Friday.
The world number eight secured a 6-3 7-5 victory over the Australian to set up a last-four clash with Magdalena Rybarikova, who ousted Kristie Ahn 6-4 6-1.
A pair of breaks handed Konta the opening set, although she fell 4-2 behind in the second before an impressive recovery. The top seed won five of the next six games, seeing three match points go begging before sealing her progression.
"It was difficult, she started very strongly. I had to raise my game and only had one little dip," said Konta, who soon returned to the court to reach the doubles semis with partner Yanina Wickmayer.
Saturday's other semi-final in Nottingham pits Donna Vekic against Lucie Safarova, following respective wins over Maria Sakkari and Tsvetana Pironkova.
At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, Ana Konjuh displayed remarkable resolve to overcome Evgeniya Rodina and book her semi-final berth.
Having won the first set, Konjuh served for the match at 6-5 in the second only to be broken before going on to lose the tie-break. The decider also went the distance, Konjuh surviving five match points in the breaker before converting the first of her own to finish off an epic 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (12-10) triumph.
Konjuh will meet Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the semis, while Anett Kontaveit will play Lesia Tsurenko, who dumped out Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-1.